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Video: Burden of proof

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>>>good evening. it started with the news of the
death of osama bin laden
. then we learned how he died, at the hands of
u.s. special forces
by order of the president. it was and will always be an extraordinary, high-stakes raid staged by americans who were willing to die for the cause. but starting today, some of the details started to change. some aspects of the storyline involving
bin laden
's wife,
bin laden
himself, and a lot of people are waiting for a very big piece of evidence, a postmortem photograph of
bin laden
. in a moment you will hear the
cia director
confirm to us a photo will ultimately be released. potentially the most widely viewed photograph in the world. but the question is when? so again tonight we have comprehensive coverage of this story, starting with our chief
white house
correspondent,
chuck todd
. and chuck, there seems to be a little tug, a little disagreement between branches of the obama government over whether or not or when to release this photo.

>> reporter: well, brian, let's make this clear. this is the president's decision. this is a
white house
decision. this is not the decision that should be made by
leon panetta
. and that's what folks here tell me. and that's why that decision hasn't been made. and in fact many senior aides here are arguing against ultimately ever releasing a photo. it's one of many questions facing the
white house
today. proof of death. one reason
president obama
chose the risky navy s.e.a.l.s operation rather than bombing the compound was to make sure there would be evidence the u.s. got
osama bin laden
. and now they have it. dna, photos, even videos. all of
bin laden
dead at the compound and on the aircraft carrier that was used for his burial at sea. but so far senior aides to the president do not see much need to release the photographic evidence.

>>i'll be candid, that there are sensitivities here in terms of the appropriateness of releasing photographs of
osama bin laden
and in the aftermath of this firefight, and we're making an evaluation about the need to do that.

>> reporter: it was a sentiment echoed by some on
capitol hill
today.

>>i just don't see a need to do it. the dna has been dispositive.

>>i personally think it's morbid.

>> reporter: others think the
white house
needs to provide the proof.

>>let's not have conspiracy theories develop. from what i've heard of the pictures, they're not ghoulish.

>> reporter: meanwhile, some details of the government's official story have changed, raising some eyebrows. yesterday
john brennan
implied
bin laden
participated in the firefight.

>>the concern was that
bin laden
would oppose any type of capture operation. indeed he did. it was a firefight. he therefore was killed in that firefight. and that's when the remains were removed.

>> reporter: brennan also said
bin laden
used his wife as a
human shield
.

>>she served as a shield. again, this is my understanding. and we're still getting the reports of exactly what happened at particular moments.

>> reporter: today, press secretary
jay carney
read an updated version of events, provided by the
department of defense
.

>>in the room with
bin laden
a woman,
bin laden
's -- a woman, rather,
bin laden
's wife, rushed the u.s. assaulter and was shot in the leg but not killed.
bin laden
was then shot and killed. he was not armed.

>> reporter: so brian, the reason for the change, right now all of those navy s.e.a.l.s that participated in this fight are doing after-action debriefings at a base in afghanistan. and as they get more information, the story does change, and as somebody at the
white house
said to me, this is something that happens regularly under military operations, the
fog of war
.

>>all right.
chuck todd
from the
white house
, starting us off on, what as you heard, is still a movable

WASHINGTON — CIA director Leon Panetta told NBC News Tuesday that a photo proving the death of Osama bin Laden "would be presented to the public," but the comment quickly drew a response from the White House saying no decision has yet been made.

"The bottom line is that, you know, we got bin Laden and I think we have to reveal to the rest of the world the fact that we were able to get him and kill him," Panetta said in an interview with Nightly News.

Asked by Reuters about the remarks, a White House spokesman said no decision had been made about releasing images of bin Laden dead.

The White House had earlier expressed concerns about making any death images of bin Laden public, considering the nature of his fatal wounds. U.S. officials say the still-secret photographic evidence shows a precision kill shot above his left eye, which blew away part of his skull. He was also shot in the chest, they said.

The White House said the photograph of a dead Osama bin Laden is "gruesome" and that "it could be inflammatory" if released.

White House press secretary Jay Carney said the White House is mulling whether to make the photo public, but he said officials are concerned about the "sensitivity" of doing so. Carney said there is a discussion internally about the most appropriate way to handle but "there is not some roiling debate here about this."

Panetta said the photos leave no question that bin Laden was killed. "Obviously I've seen those photographs," he said. "We've analyzed them and there's no question that it's bin Laden."

The issue of what to do with the "death photos" of bin Laden has been debated over the past several months, as officials planned the raid on the terror chief's Pakistan compund, two U.S. officials told NBC News on Tuesday.

Neither official disclosed what the outcome of the discussions was but noted that everyone knew the ultimate decision would rest with the White House. The same official said he did not expect a decision Tuesday, but said it would not surprise him that much, NBC News reported.

Meanwhile, U.S. officials were balancing that skepticism with the sensitivities that might be inflamed by showing images and video of his burial at sea.

"We are going to do everything we can to make sure that nobody has any basis to try to deny that we got Osama bin Laden," John Brennan, Obama's counterterrorism adviser, said Monday. He said the U.S. will "share what we can because we want to make sure that not only the American people but the world understand exactly what happened."

In July 2003, the U.S. took heat but also quieted most conspiracy theorists by releasing graphic photos of the corpses of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's two powerful sons to prove American forces had killed them.

So far, the U.S. has cited evidence that satisfied the Navy SEAL force, and at least most of the world, that they had the right man in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

The helicopter-borne raiding squad that swarmed the luxury compound identified bin Laden by appearance. A woman in the compound who was identified as his wife was said to have called out bin Laden's name in the melee.

Officials produced a quick DNA match from his remains that they said established bin Laden's identity, even absent the other techniques, with 99.9 percent certainty. U.S. officials also said bin Laden was identified through photo comparisons and other methods.

The burial from an aircraft carrier in the North Arabian Sea was videotaped aboard the ship, according to a senior defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity because a decision on whether to release the video was not final. The official said it was highly likely that the video, along with photographs of bin Laden's body, would be made public in coming days.

Officials said bin Laden was buried at sea because it was the best option, given tight time constraints. Under Islamic tradition, Muslims must be buried within 24 hours. Transferring the body to another country for interment could have taken too long, officials said.

Islamic scholars, however, challenged U.S. assertions that a burial at sea was an appropriate fate for a Muslim who had died on land.

The act denied al-Qaida any sort of burial shrine for their slain leader. Once again, bin Laden had vanished, but this time at the hands of the United States and in a way that ensures he is gone forever.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority police officers keep watch at Grand Central Station in New York on May 6, one day after information from Osama bin Laden's compound indicated al-Qaida considered attacking U.S. trains on the upcoming anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
(Timothy A. Clary / AFP - Getty Images)
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Muslims protest the killing of bin Laden in a demonstration outside the U.S. embassy on May 6, in London. The demonstration, which was called by radical Muslim cleric Anjem Choudary, was in close proximity to a rival protest by the English Defense League that celebrated the death of the al-Qaida leader.
(Oli Scarff / Getty Images)
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English Defense League members gather outside the U.S. embassy in London to cheer the death of bin Laden, facing off against a rival Muslim protest condemning the killing, on May 6.
(Oli Scarff / Getty Images)
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Supporters of the Pakistani religious group Jamaat-e-Islami rally against the U.S. in Abbottabad on May 6. Hundreds took to the streets in the town where Osama bin Laden was killed, shouting "death to America."
(Anjum Naveed / AP)
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Kashmiri Muslims on Friday offer funeral prayers in absentia for Osama bin Laden in Srinagar, India. Friday is a traditional day of protest in the Muslim world, where demonstrations frequently take place after the main weekly prayers.
(Tauseef Mustafa / AFP - Getty Images)
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Filipino anti-riot police and Muslims clash during a protest march in Manila, Philippines, on Friday. Hundreds marched toward the U.S. embassy to denounce the manner in which bin Laden‘s body was buried at sea.
(Francis R. Malasig / EPA)
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A Pakistani in Karachi on Thursday reads a newspaper showing the passport of Amal Ahmed al-Sadah, Osama Bin Laden's fifth wife who was shot in the leg during the raid. Amal Ahmed al-Sadah is being treated at the military hospital in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
(Rehan Khan / EPA)
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Members of the All India Anti-Terrorist Front hold portraits of U.S. President Barack Obama and al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden during a pro-U.S. rally as they celebrate the killing of bin Laden, at Noida in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, May 5. U.S. officials sought to keep a lid on growing scepticism over Washington's version of events around bin Laden's death, insisting the al Qaeda leader was killed during a firefight in the compound in Pakistan where he was hiding.
(Parivartan Sharma / Reuters)
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A member of the radical group Islam Defenders Front walks past posters depicting Osama bin Laden and. President Barack Obama, during prayers for the al-Qaida leader at their headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, May 4.
(Irwin Fedriansyah / AP)
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Pakistani seminary students gather for an anti-U.S. rally in Quetta on May 4, against the killing of Osama bin Laden. Pakistan said the world must share the blame for failing to unearth Osama bin Laden as anger swelled over how the slain leader had managed to live undisturbed near Islamabad.
(Banaras Khan / AFP - Getty Images)
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An armed police officer stands guard outside the U.S. embassy in London, May 4. Security personnel in London remain vigilant following the death of al-Qaida's Osama bin Laden.
(Matt Dunham / AP)
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People shout slogans during a protest against the U.S. military raid in Abbottabad that killed Osama bin Laden in Multan, Pakistan, May 4.
(MK Chaudhry / EPA)
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Soldiers and police officers patrol in the Nice-Cote d'Azur airport, in Nice, France, May 4, as security remained vigilant following the death of Osaam bin Laden.
(Lionel Cironneau / AP)
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Activists from the Anti Terrorist Front hold placards and shout pro-U.S, President Barak Obama slogans during a demonstration in New Delhi on May 3.
(Raveendran / AFP - Getty Images)
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Supporters of the banned Islamic organization Jamaat-ud-Dawa shout anti-American slogans before a symbolic funeral prayer for Osama bin Laden in Karachi, May 3. The founder one of Pakistan's most violent Islamist militant groups has told Muslims to be heartened by the death of Osama bin Laden, as his "martyrdom" would not be in vain, a spokesman for the group said on Tuesday.
(Athar Hussain / Reuters)
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Palestinians protest against the killing of the al-Qaida leader in the Gaza Strip on May 3. The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which governs Gaza, condemned the killing by U.S. forces of bin Laden and mourned him as an 'Arab holy warrior'.
(Ali Ali / EPA)
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A special issue of the magazine, Time, on the death of Osama bin Laden, will hit newsstands on Thursday, May 5. The cover show a red “X” over bin Laden’s face, and the magazine says it is the fourth cover in Time’s history to feature the red “X.” Other covers showed Adolf Hilter on May 7, 1945, Saddam Hussein on April 21, 2003, and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi on June 19, 2006.
(Time via AP)
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Supporters of the banned Islamic organization Jamaat-ud-Dawa embrace each other after taking part in a funeral prayer for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Karachi May 3. The founder one of Pakistan's most violent Islamist militant groups has told Muslims to be heartened by the death of Osama bin Laden, as his "martyrdom" would not be in vain, a spokesman for the group said on Tuesday.
(Athar Hussain / Reuters)
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A member of an elite Filipino police anti-terrorist unit stands guard in front of the US embassy in Manila, the Philippines on May 3.
(Francis R. Malasig / EPA)
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Members of the All India Anti-Terrorist Front (AIATF) hold placards in New Delhi, India on May 3 during a rally celebrating the killing of Osama bin Laden.
(Adnan Abidi / Reuters)
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Kristina Hollywood and her daughter Allyson attend a candlelight vigil for 9/11 victims at a memorial site following the death of Osama bin Laden in East Meadow, New York on May 2.
(Daniel Barry / Getty Images)
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University of New Mexico Senior Wes Henderson waves an American Flag during a rally in Albuquerque, NM, organized by a group of students on Monday to honor the troops after the killing of al-Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan.
(Adolphe Pierre-louis / Zuma Press)
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Visitors, on Monday, look over the crash site of United Airlines Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pa., following the announcement that Osama Bin Laden had been killed in Pakistan a day earlier. Nearly 10 years after Sept. 11, 2001 construction is underway to erect a formal memorial at the crash site.
(Jeff Swensen / Getty Images)
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Danielle and Carie LeMack and Christie Coombs, who lost relatives on 9-11, pause during a ceremony to honor the victims, Monday, May 2 at the Garden of Remembrance in Boston, Mass. Families of local victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks gathered at the 9/11 memorial to reflect upon the death of Osama Bin Laden.
(Darren McCollester / Getty Images)
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U.S. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden along with members of the national security team, receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in the Situation Room of the White House, Sunday, May 1. Also pictured are Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
(The White House / Reuters)
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In this handout image provided by The White House, President Barack Obama shakes hands with Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in the Green Room of the White House, following his statement detailing the mission against Osama bin Laden, Sunday in Washington, DC.
(The White House / Getty Images)
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Part of a damaged helicopter is seen lying near the compound where al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden was killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan on Sunday, May 1.
(DOD via Reuters)
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(Left image) Middle school teacher Gary Weddle with his beard photographed minutes before he shaves off the beard at his East Wenatchee, Wash., home on Sunday, May 1, 2011. (Right image) Weddle displays his cut beard while shaving the remaining stubble. Weddle completed a vow made nearly 10 years ago not to shave until Osama bin Laden was caught or proven killed.
(Donita Weddle / The Wenatchee World, Capital Press via AP)
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People look out at Ground Zero a day after the death of Osama Bin Laden on Monday, May 2 in New York City.
(Spencer Platt / Getty Images)
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World Trade Center construction workers listen as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg speak about Osama bin Laden at the World Trade Center site in New York on Monday, May 2.
(Brendan McDermid / Reuters)
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Los Angeles Airport Police patrol the Tom Bradley terminal at Los Angeles International Aiport on May 2, 2011 in Los Angeles, Calif. Security presence has been escalated at airports, train stations and public places after the killing of Osama Bin Laden by the United States in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
(Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)
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Carroll Fisher, of Auburn, Wash., a retired member of the US Air Force, waves a flag at passing cars as he stands on the "Freedom Bridge" just outside Joint Base Lewis-McChord on May 2, near Tacoma, Wash., the day after President Barack Obama announced that Osama Bin Laden had been killed.
(Ted S. Warren / AP)
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Angry supporters of Pakistani religious party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam burn a representation of the United States during a rally to condemn the killing of Osama bin Laden in Quetta, Pakistan on Monday.
(Arshad Butt / AP)
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A screen grab from the FBI's Most Wanted website, taken May 2, shows the status of Osama bin Laden as deceased. The al-Qaida leader was killed in a U.S. raid on a mansion near the Pakistani capital Islamabad early on Monday, officials said.
(fbi.gov via Reuters)
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Joyce and Russell Mercer, parents of New York Firefighter Scott Mercer who lost his life on 9/11, sit before a news conference concerning the death of Osama Bin Laden at the law offices of Norman Siegel on Monday in New York City.
(Daniel Barry / Getty Images)
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An armored Park Police vehicle is parked at the base of the Washington Monument, May 2, in Washington, DC. The DC area and other places around the nation have stepped up security after it was announced that Osama bin Laden was killed in a firefight with U. S. forces in Pakistan.
(Brendan Smialowski / Getty Images)
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Jim Schweizer, assistant to the director of Fort Snelling National Cemetery, straightens flowers at the grave of Thomas Burnett, May 2, in Bloomington, Minn. Burnett died on Sept, 11, 2001 along with 39 other passengers and crew when Flight 93 was hijacked and crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pa. Osama bin Laden, the face of global terrorism and architect of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, was killed in a firefight with elite American forces in Pakistan on Monday, and then quickly buried at sea in a stunning finale to a furtive decade on the run.
(Richard Sennott / AP)
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This aerial photo, released May 2, 2011 by the Pentagon, shows a view of the compound in Abbottbad, Pakistan where a U. S. military operation was conducted and Al-Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden was killed on May 1.
(AFP - Getty Images)
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Ashley Gilligan reflects on the death of Osama bin Laden at NBC Studios in New York on Monday. Gilligan lost her father, Ronald Gilligan, in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
(Jonathan D. Woods / msnbc.com)
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President Barack Obama delivers remarks on the death of Osama Bin Laden prior to posthumously awarding Private First Class Anthony Kaho'ohanohano, U.S. Army, and Private First Class Henry Svehla, U.S. Army, the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry, in the East Room of the White House in Washington on May 2.
(Shawn Thew / EPA)
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Andrea Masano visits the memorial to Massachusetts victims of the attacks of 9/11 in Boston, Mass. on Monday.
(Brian Snyder / Reuters)
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Women read an extra edition of a Japanese newspaper in Tokyo, May 2, reporting the death of Osama bin Laden.
(Shizuo Kambayashi / AP)
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Kristen Grazioso, 14, places balloons on a carved stone Monday in Middletown, N.J., that honors her father, who was killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center. There are 37 stones in the garden representing those from Middletown who died in the attack.
(Mel Evans / AP)
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Tara Henwood Butzbaugh shows a photo of her family at the World Trade Center site in New York on Monday. Her brother was killed in the 9/11 attack.
(Andrew Kelly / Reuters)
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A Transportation Security Administration agent checks the luggage of a passenger on May 2 at the Orlando International Airport in Orlando, Fla. Security in airports and train stations has been increased in the wake of the death of Osama bin Laden.
(Stan Honda / AFP - Getty Images)
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Dionne Layne, right, hugs Mary Power in reacton to the news of the death of Osama bin Laden on Monday in New York. At left is 1 World Trade Center, also known as the Freedom Tower, which is currently under construction.
(Mark Lennihan / AP)
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Afghan President Hamid Karzai, center, is flanked by vice presidents Mohammad Qasim Fahim, left, and Mohammed Karim Khalili, right, as he addresses the media at the presidential palace in Kabul on Monday. Afghan President Hamid Karzai said that the killing of Osama bin Laden in neighboring Pakistan proved Kabul's long-standing position that the war on terror was not rooted in Afghanistan.
(Shah Marai / AFP - Getty Images)
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People shout slogans while holding placards and photographs of Osama bin Laden as they celebrate his killing in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad on Monday.
(Amit Dave / Reuters)
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University of Texas at Austin students celebrate the news of Osama bin Laden’s death at Cain & Abel’s bar late Sunday night.
(Erika Rich / Daily Texan via AP)
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People light candles in the streets at Ground Zero, the site of the World Trade Center, in response to the death of Osama bin Laden on Sunday night, May 1, in New York City.
(Spencer Platt / Getty Images)
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A driver and passengers celebrate the death of Osama bin Laden in the streets of Lawrence, Kan., on Sunday. President Barack Obama announced Sunday night, May 1, that Osama bin Laden was killed in an operation led by the United States.
(Orlin Wagner / AP)
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Crowds gather at ground zero in New York early Monday, shortly after President Obama announced that a U.S. military operation had killed Osama bin Laden in a firefight at a large mansion in Pakistan.
(Justin Lane / EPA)
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People cheer and wave flags on the "Freedom Bridge" just outside Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Sunday near Tacoma, Wash., after they heard the news of bin Laden's death.
(Ted S. Warren / AP)
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David Huber and Nicole Lozare of Arlington, Va., pay their respect to victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks at the Pentagon Memorial early Monday morning, after President Obama announced bin Laden's death. A special forces-led operation killed the al-Qaida leader in a mansion outside Islamabad in Pakistan.
(Alex Wong / Getty Images)
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U.S. Marines of Regiment Combat Team 1 watch TV at Camp Dwyer in Helmand Province, Afghanistan on Monday as President Obama announces the death of Osama bin Laden. Obama said late Sunday U.S. time that justice had been done after the September 11, 2001, attacks, but warned that al-Qaida will still try to attack the U.S.
(Bay Ismoyo / AFP - Getty Images)
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Timeline: A timeline of Osama bin Laden's life

Considered enemy No. 1 by the U.S., the Saudi millionaire is the perpetrator behind the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Click on key dates to learn more about the founder of al-Qaida, an international terror network.

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